textproduct: Amarillo

KEY MESSAGES

Issued at 914 PM CDT Thu Sep 24 2026

-Thunderstorm chances continue for the Panhandles through Friday night, where localized flooding and strong wind gusts from thunderstorms are possible.

-Additional showers and thunderstorm chances may return towards the middle of next week.

SHORT TERM

(Tonight through Saturday night) Issued at 914 PM CDT Thu Sep 24 2026

Latest 03Z observations shows a corridor of sub-tropical moisture advection resulting in areas of heavy rainfall from Hereford to Amarillo to near Panhandle. A notable shift of the heavy rain corridor from the western Panhandles the prior day. This is due to the low amplitude H500 ridge across central Oklahoma and Kansas acting like a steering mechanism for mid level perturbations downstream of a broad H500 trough axis over southern Arizona advecting good lift and moisture into the region. A series of multi-cell clusters should continue to develop across eastern NM and the Texas South Plains and move north- northeast in the main synoptic region of lift into the Panhandles through Friday night. Then as the aforementioned ridge to the eats begins to compress, the main H500 trough axis to the west will progress east-northeast back into the main steering flow. Conditions will dry out from west to east across the Panhandles going through Saturday morning. Before clearing out by Saturday morning, with PWAT values on Friday to continue to be in the 99th percentile, will continue to monitor the potential for localized flooding, especially for areas already saturday from previous days of rainfall. High temperatures on Friday will range from the lower 70s in the western Panhandles to lower 80s in the eastern Panhandles. When conditions dry out by Saturday, temperatures will rebound into the mid and upper 80s for all of the Panhandles.

LONG TERM

(Sunday through next Thursday) Issued at 914 PM CDT Thu Sep 24 2026

A second SW-NE H500 ridge should build across the southern High Plains on Sunday and Monday continuing to bring dry conditions. Latest global model guidance are increasing chances for rain and storms going towards the end of the forecast period as another mid level trough moves east across the central Rockies. Temperatures second half of the weekend into early next week will remain above average. A cold front towards the end of the forecast period could bring temperatures back below average with another taste of Fall potentially on the horizon.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1218 AM CDT Fri Sep 25 2026

Continuing to monitor VCTS at KAMA to start the 06Z TAF period with VFR conditions currently at KDHT/KGUY. Through 12Z, some MVFR cigs may move into all TAF sites, with cigs going between MVFR/VFR through 17-18Z before VFR cigs return and continue through the remainder of the TAF period. Winds will be out of the south-southwest at 5-15 kts, with higher gusts at times.

AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

TX...Flood Watch until 7 AM CDT this morning for TXZ001-002-006.

OK...Flood Watch until 7 AM CDT this morning for OKZ001-002.